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Thread: Acceptable Refrigerator temps
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08-06-2022, 06:41 AM #11
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Same here..... installed internal fans, external upper vent fans, and a digital thermometer/switch to cycle the internals on/off between 34 and 37f degrees. External has a thermal fuse which comes on at 110f. All of this with the fridge setting at 4 (of 5 possible) power level during 100+ outdoor temps. If fridge set to 5, gets below freezing at times. Can get by with a lower power setting of 3 if under 90F outside temps.
Also put on a master kill switch to shutoff all added fan cooling.Jim and Annette
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08-06-2022, 07:35 AM #12
Thanks, those are interesting experiments. I would never question the data that addresses which foods should be discarded when left above 40 degrees for 2 hours, but unless my thermometers are off calibration (I've used several) I know I've been in that situation. Maybe I've just been lucky.
I've done all the fan mods, interior and exterior. I doubt most folks buying RV's today have any idea what are the temps their fridges, and have no clue as to how to modify one. Can you imagine a family with several kids getting in and out of the fridge multiple times a day, and they are parked on the beach in 100 degree weather? I think @Scott'n'Wendy is right on with "ignorance is bliss".
I think back to something that amazes me. When I was a kid my Mom would get up early on Sunday morning and fry chicken. She would leave it well covered on the countertop, and we would eat it when we got home from church. Believe it or not we never got sick. Who knows??2020 Reflection 273MK
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08-06-2022, 07:38 AM #13
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Good to know. My Norcold 1210 stays pretty much at 0.5 to 2*C (33-36 degrees for you 'mericans..) when set on 4. But every now and then it would warm up several degrees and I didn't know why..now I do. Gonna have to see if there is a way to defeat that...uh...'feature'.
Thks @xrated2018 Dodge 3500 6.7 Cummins SRW w/Aisin
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08-06-2022, 07:52 AM #14
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There is an extremely easy way to defeat that "feature", although maybe not as convenient as one might hope for. Simply write down or remember....if you still have that mental capacity .....what time you turned the fridge on initially. Then maybe 46....47 hours later, simply push the power button and turn the fridge off for 30 seconds or so. Then turn it back on. That cancels out the timer and it starts over. Make sure you write down or remember the new "start time". It works, even if it isn't an optimal solution.
I remember reading several months ago....probably last year, about a guy that got tired of doing just that, so he plugged in a 24hr timer to the receptacle that the fridge plugs into, and pugged the fridge into that instead of directly into the receptacle. The timer would turn the fridge off for a few minutes, then back on. I'm not sure that would work though, and I never tried it. It seems to me that if the power went off....either from a power blip or from the timer turning it off, you would still have to push the button on the front of the fridge to start it back up. Maybe some of them are different from others.....I don't know. It might be something to try if you have time or the desire to.Last edited by xrated; 08-06-2022 at 07:57 AM.
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08-06-2022, 01:47 PM #15
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08-17-2022, 07:48 PM #16
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A lot depends on what time of the day you turn your refrigerator "on". The first defrost cycle on the Dometic refrigerator kicks in 36 hrs after the unit is first powered up and then every 24 hrs after the first defrost time. Turning the fridge on at 1pm results in the fridge defrost cycle starting 36 hrs later at 1am and then at 1am each night after. This nightime defrost cycle is optimal because the fridge isn't being opened during that time. That being said my Dometic 4 door refrigerator keeps my stuff really cold and temps are almost always in the lower 30's... even in 90° weather. I get concerned when it occasionally gets up to 37-38° during dinner prep because the DW likes to stand there with both doors open and stare at the contents inside. Here's a picture of my built-in Temp sensor that I have verified with an infrared gun.
Last edited by IBEW Sparky; 08-18-2022 at 07:01 AM.
Bill & Colleen ~ Schwenksville, Pa
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08-17-2022, 08:49 PM #17
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08-17-2022, 09:04 PM #18
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Sparky - I always heard it (defrost) cycled every 24 hrs after turning on. But your 36/24 makes sense. Surely the Dometic folks wouldn’t program it so you had to stay up till 1am on the first day of camping.
As far as fan help, I put one of the little D cell cube fans inside the fridge to move air around and it seems to help.
This past July 4 weekend we were camping at Sun’s in Austin (110 F). Couldn’t get below mid 40’s in fridge so wifey kept the food in ice chest Went to Wallyworld and bought a 10” fan and zipped it on the top vent pulling air out. Looked like Jed Camplet had come to town but fridge stayed 38F the rest of the week.
It’s a darn shame the RV industry won’t solve this problem. I read on other forums that it seems to be universalEddie, Cindy, n Maddie (our fearless Yorkie)
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08-18-2022, 10:01 AM #19
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I just had the Dutch Air 12v dual compressor installed in my Norcold (AKA NorCOOL ) 1210. Looks good so far. Going camping this weekend. Hoping to cross fridge temps off my list of concerns.
Bob and Joanne
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12-16-2022, 09:41 PM #20
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Any merit in bypassing the defrost function? Is it feasible to do so? I'm having 12+ hrs defrost cycle - that can't be right!
Your thoughts?
Craig
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